SF Play Says Space Disaster Omen for Iraq War

On Sep 17, 3:42 pm, "Jim Oberg" wrote:
Well, let's face it. Our worst fears were about tripled in reality by these
clowns.

Bill Pullman play 'Expedition 6' lacks gravity - and coherence, too

Why do I find your literal take of art less than critical? Seems the
following is a positive review. What was your problem with it? Total
unrealistic?

I like the fact that the play, which I have never seen BTW, has the
effect on you that it does. Now THAT is art!


Robert Hurwitt, Chronicle Theater Critic

Monday, September 17, 2007

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg.../DD75S3NPB.DTL

Every civilization recognizes the existence of omens and the need to
interpret them, we're told at the beginning of "Expedition 6."

The quote from the Roman orator Cicero turns out to be an omen for the
sporadically fascinating and often frustrating performance-docudrama by
celebrated actor Bill Pullman receiving its world premiere at the Magic
Theatre.

Omens crop up throughout Pullman's attempt to explore connections between
the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster, the men trapped aboard the International
Space Station, Islamic culture and the war in Iraq. The signs run the gamut
from the number 13 to desert prophets seeing the rocket's fall as a comet
foretelling disaster for the invaders of Babylon.

That's one of the problems with omens - they're cryptic and best understood
in hindsight. More immediately, they tend to trivialize Pullman's search for
connections and detract from the more interesting elements of the Magic's
season opener. There's some genuine and affecting drama in the plight of the
two astronauts and one cosmonaut trapped on the space station, their wives
anxiously waiting for them and the perilous Russian rescue effort. There's
also some fascinating material about life in zero-gravity conditions,
expressively depicted in free-flowing trapeze work in the play that opened
Saturday.

On Tue, 18 Sep 2007 08:32:49 -0700, Eric Chomko
wrote, in part:

I like the fact that the play, which I have never seen BTW, has the
effect on you that it does. Now THAT is art!

The point is that the Iraqi people are being murdered by terrorists.
Only the U.S. army in Iraq is standing between them and being enslaved
by the terrorists.

If someone goes around and argues for taking the troops out, abandoning
the Iraqi people to their fate, and giving al-Qaeda on a silver platter
a country-sized base of operations... yes, I don't approve of it!

And when he doesn't even come out and give rational arguments, but
instead tries to stir up *superstition* as a reason to panic the weak
minded and irrational into opposing the Iraq war (unfortunately, such
people get to vote too) well, of course people will be annoyed at such
irresponsible and dishonest behavior. Why shouldn't they?

John Savard
http://www.quadibloc.com/index.html